Red Kate

 

Red Kate is a no bullshit, class conscious Punk rock and roll band from Kansas City, Missouri, USA. For more than a decade the band has expressed its DIY ethic through multiple LP and EP releases and by touring across the Midwest, going so far as to create a not-for-profit record label cooperative, Black Site, to help other bands produce albums 

While Red Kate’s lyrical themes may be serious, the band has always believed a message is best received while having a good time. Singer/bassist L. Ron Drunkard and drummer Andrew Whelan lay down solid, danceable grooves and catchy hooks, while guitarists Shaun Hamontree on rhythm and Ben Summers on lead maintain that classic, fierce tube-driven tone that tips a cap to the beer-soaked barroom floors of 70s British Pub-Rock, Australian proto-punk and modern post-punk noise that has since taken root in Midwest dive bars and basements. 

Red Kate released its debut LP, "When The Troubles Come", in 2013 on Replay Records in Lawrence, KS. A mix of ‘70s political punk and sardonic “love” songs, the red vinyl pressing with hand-printed and letter-pressed cover art designed by Kansas muralist Dave Loewenstein put the band on the map. While recording the album, original lead guitarist, Scot Sperry, left the band and Desmond Poirier stepped into the role. 

In 2016, Red Kate released the critically acclaimed sophomore LP, "unamerican activities", the first on its nascent cooperative label, Black Site. The album (and label) name, plus the “redacted” artwork theme by as-yet-to-be guitarist Shaun Hamontree, reflects how daring to question the authority of the social, economic or political hegemony can be considered unpatriotic and disloyal to God and country (and even the corporation).

After surviving the pandemic and yet another lineup change (Chris Kinsley stepping in for Desmond Poirier on lead guitar), Red Kate returned to the studio in late 2021 to finalize what had become a years-long project, a new album. 

With the late 2023 release of the band’s third LP, "Exit Strategy", Red Kate fires an unapologetic sonic blast of musical truth into the disinformation-soaked wall of incessant noise that deafens and numbs us daily.

While the album takes musical departures into post-punk and proto-industrial territories only hinted at in previous albums, it does so without sacrificing the band's well-established Cleveland-via-Sydney style of Midwestern punk rock and roll. "Exit Strategy" holds a mirror up to our self-absorbed, narcissistic society, a society so easily manipulated and exploited through tribalism and fear that it makes one doubt that progress is actually possible.

Barring any further collapse of society (or uprising of AI chat bots), the band can be found bringing their message to The People, and with a little luck (and a hell of a lot of work) maybe even the European continent.

When The Troubles Come (2013)

01 - Union Voice

02 - Pink Sweater

03 - Please Forgive Me

04 - Disappear

05 - Flirty Hips

06 - My City

07 - Hypnotized

08 - Sooner Or Later

09 - Silent Picture Show

10 - Your Favorite Song

11 - I Need A Million

Split EP with The Bad Ideas (2014)

Red Kate

01 - On My Mind

02 - New Dreams

The Bad Ideas

03 - Apocalypse Detroit

04 - I'm Stuck

unamerican activities (2016)

01 - You Don't Speak For Me

02 - Get Out

03 - I Got A Gun

04 - Better

05 - Punch The Clock

06 - Take It Back

07 - You Ought To Know

08 - On My Mind

09 - I Want You

10 - She Doesn't Need Your Love

11 - Her Lips Say Yes

12 - Waited

13 - Heart Of The City

Split EP with Stiff Middle Fingers (2017)

Red Kate

01 - Urban Church

02 - Hole

Stiff Middle Fingers

03 - 3 Minutes To Midnight

04 - Manically Delicious

Exit Strategy (2023)

01 - Don't Think Too Much

02 - She's In Love

03 - Escape Room

04 - I Don't Want to Hear About It

05 - Home Of The Slave

06 - No Solution

07 - Mind Control

08 - Hole

09 - Urban Church

10 - Lost Connection

11 - Iraqi Girl

12 - Shut It Down

13 - Shut It Down (Single Version)

14 - Shut It Down (Dez Mix)

pass: freepunk77